PhD student in Conservation

Published: 2023-02-28

The establishment of Formas research schools for sustainable planning and built environment enables the employment of two PhD candidates in conservation at the department of art history on Campus Gotland. The research school ASSURE – Adaptation of urban Space through SUstainable REgeneration – of which the PhD candidates are part, is interdisciplinary and conducted in collaboration with other universities and partners outside of academia.

Conservation, Department of Art History

At the department of art history, we conduct research and education, at undergraduate and graduate levels, in three disciplines at two campuses: art history and textile science at Campus Engelska parken in Uppsala and conservation at Campus Gotland in Visby. At present there are 16 teachers and lecturers in conservation. For more information, see the department website: http://www.konstvet.uu.se

Conservation is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary academic field that spans the disciplines of humanities/social sciences and science/technology. Conservation is about managing cultural heritage and transferring resources from the past into the future in a sustainable way. Research in conservation is thus about understanding the past-present-future relationship. It also means investigating the role of cultural heritage in the transition to a sustainable society, new perspectives on renovation, reuse and recycling as part of a circular economy, and how cultural heritage is valued, preserved, developed, used and consumed and why and in what ways this is done, both conceptually and practically. Thus, the research is at the intersection of objects, their significance and a range of professional practices. These practices can be found in public administrations and institutions as well as in civil society and business, and in the cultural heritage, museum and arts sectors. Conservation includes both applied and theoretical perspectives, as well as the exploration of cultural heritage through critical, creative and affirmative methods. This includes analysing different conservation ideologies and ethics, developing care practices, and studying how cultural heritage is staged and cared for, and the effects this has on people and the environment.

The division is located at Campus Gotland, an international campus in the middle of world heritage town Visby. Read more on the division´s website: https://www.konstvet.uu.se/kulturvard/

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Duties

A PhD candidate should primarily devote himself/herself to his/her own doctoral studies. To a limited extent, the PhD candidate may work with teaching, other research and/or administration, but not more than 20 percent of full working hours. The PhD programme comprises four years of full-time study and leads to a doctoral degree. The programme consists of a course component and a dissertation component. The PhD candidate is expected to participate actively in the research and training environment of the department and in the joint activities of the research school ASSURE.

The PhD project are part of the research school ASSURE, which is a collaboration between Uppsala University Campus Gotland, Lund University, Malmö University and RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden), and is funded by Formas. ASSURE aims to develop practical research on how renovations and transformations of buildings and areas can be adapted to future needs. Cities today face challenges related to climate change, urbanisation and segregation, and in order to create sustainable cities for the future, we need to use the built environment that already exists, in a sustainable way. Both buildings and neighborhoods are facing changes, such as energy efficiency improvements, which will affect citizens' daily lives. ASSURE employs a total of eight PhD candidates, two of them in conservation, at the department of art history, Uppsala University Campus Gotland.

The aim of the PhD project ‘Rethinking cultural heritage values for sustainable place development' is to investigate how cultural values are defined in the transformation of urban environments. How do the social, intangible and tangible values of cultural heritage relate to each other and how do these values contribute to sustainable development? The PhD project mainly moves in a theoretical context, but its content and implementation will be formulated in relation to the practice of cultural management, in collaboration with partner companies and relevant authorities.

Requirements

Applicants fulfil the requirements for general eligibility for doctoral programmes if they have:

• second-cycle qualification,
• completed at least 240 academic credits’ worth of courses, with at least 60 academic credits from second-cycle education, or
• acquired the equivalent knowledge in some other manner either in Sweden or abroad.

The faculty board may grant an exemption from the general eligibility requirements for an individual applicant if there are special reasons to do so.

In addition to the general eligibility requirements stated above, applicants must also have completed a second-cycle degree in conservation or equivalent. Applicants who have acquired the equivalent knowledge either in Sweden or abroad also fulfil the special eligibility requirements.

To be eligible for the PhD position in conservation within the ASSURE research school, the proposed PhD project needs to be clearly related to issues concerning conservation, sustainable planning and regeneration and transformation of urban space. For this position, specific documented knowledge of English is required.

Additional qualifications for this position include:

• documented knowledge of Swedish
• experiences of research projects
• scientific publication
• experience of heritage management practice

Selection criteria and assessment

The selection will be based on the applicant's previous academic achievements and other qualifications. Great importance is attached to the applicant's ability to carry out the proposed PhD project and its feasibility within the net study period. The selection will be based on the ability to carry out independent research, to think critically and to express oneself orally and in writing.

The possibility of crediting courses must not constitute an advantage in the evaluation of merit in connection with admission (cf. SFS 2010:1064, HF 7 chapter 41 §, RUF 10 §).

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

Application

Your application can be written in Swedish or English and should include:

• CV
• a personal cover letter describing your research interests and explaining why you are applying for the PhD programme (maximum 2 pages)
• a research plan in which you describe your proposed PhD project and how it relates to the aims of the research school in general and the project ‘Rethinking cultural heritage values for sustainable place development' in particular (maximum 3 pages)
• an extract from the register or a certified copy of a certificate / diploma attesting to your basic and specific qualifications
• a copy of your independent works (essays) written within the framework of your
  studies, such as your Master's thesis(es) and any publications (maximum 5)
• other documents you wish to refer to

About the employment

The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 2023-09-01. Placement: Visby.

For further information about the position, please contact: Gustaf Leijonhufvud, Deputy Head of Department, 0498-108337, gustaf.leijonhufvud@konstvet.uu.se

Please submit your application by 31 March 2023, UFV-PA 2023/2023.

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About Campus Gotland: Uppsala University Campus Gotland offers the best of two worlds: the full-scale university’s broad offering and weight and a unique, small-scale campus in an interdisciplinary research environment. Campus Gotland is a hub for the University’s research and education in sustainability. Find out what it’s like to live on Gotland.

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